A typical semiconductor thermal team spends approximately 60% of its time on standard package thermal characterization and design, and the remaining time for customer-specific characterizations. The FloTHERM IC tool reduces the time spent on thermal characterization and design by providing an automated process that includes pre-verified thermal models to reduce the risk of modelling errors. The tool can also achieve reductions of up to 25% in the time usually needed for customer-specific characterizations.

The FloTHERM IC tool is based on proven Mentor Graphics technologies: FloTHERM CFD software, used to simulate airflow, temperature, and heat transfer in electronic systems, and the FloTHERM PACK Smart Parts modeling tool. This new solution addresses the following areas of a semiconductor package thermal characterization and design:

–Full-spectrum thermal metric and compact model generation with full adherence to published JEDEC standards
–Package-aware” parametric design for “what-if” analysis
–EDA tool interfacing for detailed modeling of BGA substrates for physical layout
–Data mining of simulation data to enable optimized design time and reuse

The product’s wizard-based user interface is simple to use, designed for both the core thermal team and field engineers. Supported fully by an intuitive and flexible library and database infrastructure, the software enables a range of JEDEC thermal metrics and compact models to be generated easily and efficiently.

New Technology Featured at SEMI-THERM 2010

FloTHERM IC technology will be showcased at SEMI-THERM 2010 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, February 21-25, 2010. Additional technical information about the product will be provided during the Mentor Graphics vendor presentation which will take place on February 23 at 2:00 PM in Ballroom E. Stop by the Mentor Graphics booth #202 for additional information.

For more information on the Mentor Graphics FloTHERM IC technology and other mechanical analysis solutions, visit the company website:  www.mentor.com/products/mechanical/products/flotherm-ic/.

Mentor Graphics
www.mentor.com

::Design World::

Source: :: Design World ::

The new option of viewing data directly from the browser is a convenient way to work with many data files. The new function is beneficial when a quick look at the measurement data is required, for example, to select the desired data set. Additionally, different measurement data – for example multiple measurements of the same test – can be displayed on top of each other for graphical comparison.

The new module for correction of irregularities allows you to automatically correct negative effects in the measurement signals that might interfere with subsequent analysis. With long-term monitoring, only individual events that may occur only infrequently are relevant. Static conditions between these events expand the data volume and contain only static signal components. In addition, test results may drift due to the effect of temperature variations during long-term monitoring. In the event of a drift in a known measured value, an automatic reset to its origin facilitates monitoring of the test value. A further irregularity results from electromagnetic interference affecting the measurement data in the form of spikes. The new add-on module automatically corrects all these irregularities, such as flat lines, drift and spikes and provides clear display of relevant data.

HBM
www.hbm.com

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Source: :: Design World ::

UNOX plans to develop and connect all product data, making it easier to access information and enhance cooperation among all involved parties.

UNOX will use Teamcenter to enhance its product development, process engineering, engineering data management, and to consolidate existing legacy systems, including Pro/E® software and ERP SAP® software.

Siemens
www.siemens.com

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Source: :: Design World ::

The necessity to reduce C02 emission levels has forced automotive manufacturers to reshape their business processes to deliver greener cars. Fully embracing the cause of leaving a minimum carbon footprint on the planet, the implementation of the DS solutions will help automakers conceive, analyze, and simulate eco-friendly low-emission vehicles such as the Project I, a new Megacity vehicle, optimized for better performance and low energy consumption.

By consolidating design in a single PLM software platform BMW can tap into “proven design” concepts and re-use them across all product lines achieving time savings in the design and manufacturing of new cars. The single platform also enables all designers, including development partners in the supply chain, to collaborate, which is another factor in streamlining the design process. SIMULIA realistic simulation solutions combined with CATIA further allow BMW to virtually test their vehicle’s real-world performance early in the development cycle which helps improve product quality, while reducing time and cost of physical testing.

The agreement also defines a set of strategic projects where BMW will evaluate possible migration paths that ensure a smooth transition to Dassault Systèmes V6 PLM solutions for all its vehicle development programs.

Dassault Systemes
www.3ds.com

::Design World::

Source: :: Design World ::

The architecture of mechanical pocket watches and wristwatches has long been based on the same principle. A leaf spring, which is the barrel spring or main spring, is wound inside a barrel drum. The external part of the spring presses against the inside wall of the drum and is fastened rigidly or linked by an elastic part. The inner end of the spring is fastened to a barrel arbor. By keeping the drum fixed and rotating the barrel arbor, it is easy to understand that the spring is wound around the arbor and potential energy can be accumulated in the system. The covered drum inside, known as the barrel, is the main force that drives the watch.

Because the dimensions of the spring and the drum are limited by the small volume available in watches, the mechanical energy stored in the barrel is also limited. The power reserve of the watch, that is, the running time of the watch “at rest” without user interaction, depends on this stored energy. In most cases, the power reserve of a watch is about 48 hrs.

If the density of energy storage (the stored energy to volume ratio) can be maximized, the power reserve of the watch is also increased. This is why Ulysse Nardin initiated the development of a barrel spring made of composite materials giving an elastic limit and impact resistance far superior to the best steels known.

The springs have a silicon core produced on monocrystalline silicon wafers. The surface of this silicon core is then coated with a layer of polycrystalline diamond. Compared with steel, silicon and diamond exhibit less fatigue. Moreover, a main spring created using this technique can be expected to have much greater stiffness, stored energy capacity, and resilience. For given dimensions, it is now thought possible to double the power reserve. This may be beneficial for small watches, especially ladies’ watches, in which the volume available for the barrel is limited.

Another advantage is obtained by using silicon deep etching technology, a photolithographic process which makes it possible to produce complex geometries. Research is under way at Ulysse Nardin to produce a barrel spring with a variable turn width that transmits constant torque. If the torque transmitted to the gear train is constant, the amplitude of the balance oscillation will also be constant. This eliminates the anisochronism related to balance amplitudes, which enables the running precision of the watch to be optimized.

The watch designs require the production of several springs that are more than ½ m long on a silicon wafer that is limited to a diameter of 6-in. (15.4 cm). This limits the dimensions of the free spring (preform), which means that a preform that is compatible with the tiling of the springs on the wafer must be selected, while imposing a varying thickness along the spring to obtain constant torque. To meet this challenge, Ulysse Nardin called upon Claude Bourgeois who developed a modeling and optimization tool based on Maple.

Silicon is a very hard material that does not wear easily. It has a low friction coefficient and low density, and higher precision can be achieved in the production of complex parts by silicon machining techniques than with steel. The first applications of silicon were fixed or moving non-deforming parts, such as bearings, escapement parts, pinions, and escape wheels.

The elasticity of silicon was then also put to use, at the heart of the watch, in the spiral spring associated with the balance. To compensate for the high intrinsic thermoelastic drift of silicon, which is incompatible with accurate timekeeping, Claude Bourgeois and a team at the CSEM recommended thermal oxidation of the surface to compensate for the drift. Today, Ulysse Nardin, in partnership with Sigatec, is using this technology to produce its own thermally compensated silicon spiral springs. Sigtec, a company based in Sion, Switzerland, provides the capability to manufacture silicon parts on an industrial scale.

These new applications required new modeling tools, which were still not widespread in traditional watchmaking, to model, analyze, and optimize these new types of active structures. Maple was used to model and optimize the oxidized silicon sprung balance resonator. The developed model combined the thermal drift up to third order and the anisotropy of silicon. Differential equations that characterized the springs at large displacements were integrated, while taking into account the deviation from the isochronism of the resonator at different balance amplitudes. The shape of the terminal curve of the spiral spring, which enabled the isochronism deviations to be controlled, was then optimized by a convergent iterative calculation, varying the appropriate geometrical parameters.

Maple helps identify the critical parameters related to the required function and the figures of merit of the system. It also helps to establish analytical macromodels which are useful elements for analysis and for developing new concepts.

The first watch to use the new barrel springs with silicon cores is the Ulysse Nardin Freak Caliber. It has a great advantage: its barrel is placed below the rest of the movement. This means that it occupies a large volume since almost the entire diameter of the watch can be allocated to it. As a result, the power reserve of this watch is more than seven days. Only one manual winding a week is necessary by means of a grooved bezel under the watch. Another feature of this model is that the hour hand is fixed directly on the barrel drum, which is designed to rotate once every twelve hours. Also, this watch has a karrusel tourbillon, making it precise.

Through its determination to innovate, the Ulysse Nardin factory today has sophisticated production facilities that benefit from its technological advances. Sigatec was formed as a joint venture between Ulysse Nardin and another Sion-based company called Mimotec SA, a manufacturer of nickel micro-parts. Diamaze Microtechnology SA produces thin or thick coats of polycrystalline diamond. The company coats the silicon core with diamond to produce the diamond barrel springs. A hard spring with a soft heart is possible as a result.

Maplesoft
www.maplesoft.com

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Source: :: Design World ::